Robert Hamley – Robert Hamley

Three of the Largest Flower Shows in the World

Retired New York state judge Robert Hamley entered the floral industry after inventing the flower preservation system called Forever Flowers. As part of his business responsibilities, Robert Hamley has attended flower shows across the United States and throughout the world.

Flower shows bring together floriculture professionals, sales professionals, and representatives from floral-dependent industries such as event planning and landscaping. Some of the most highly attended flower shows in the world include:

Singapore Garden Festival: Since 2006, hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to Singapore to attend the week-long Garden Festival. The festival features the designs of some of the most accomplished landscape artists in the world.

Keukenhof: Dutch for “kitchen garden,” Keukenhof is a 32-hectare flower park that hosts events during the tulip season, which lasts from late March to early May. More than 30 flower shows are held in Keukenhof, attracting more than seven million flower lovers every year.

Chelsea Flower Show: Possibly the most-well recognized flower show in the world, the Chelsea Flower Show has been held in some form since the mid-1800s. While attendance is limited to just over 152,000 visitors, it boasts a high-profile guest list, including members of the British Royal Family.

The Evolution of a Television Advertising Platform

Robert Hamley of New York City, New York, is a retired judge who currently owns Forever Flowers, a company that sells preservative kits. Robert Hamley’s products have been featured on the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

Both HSN and QVC are well-known home shopping favorites of consumers all over the country, but HSN has evolved to include various digital shopping options. As more and more users switch to online shopping, HSN’s digital platforms have expanded to meet their needs.

This move toward a digital platform provides HSN shoppers with the full e-commerce experience. By including content and reviews and creating community through social media platforms, HSN has created a site where shoppers can share their thoughts about products with other members, and have user-friendly shopping experience in general.

The impetus behind this move was the desire to host an environment where customers experience a limitless retail atmosphere. Online, mobile, and gaming are a few of the platforms that the company is integrating into the comprehensive shopping experience. This expansion into online retail also serves as a way to keep the brand’s identity fresh.

An Overview and Brief History of St. Benedict’s Preparatory School

Robert Hamley is the owner of Forever Flowers, a New York City-based provider of floral preservation kits. Before beginning his career, Robert Hamley graduated from St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, a Newark, New Jersey, institution that recently inducted him into its hall of fame.

St. Benedict’s Preparatory School has a long record of providing a quality, well-rounded education to young people from Newark and nearby communities. The history of the institution dates back to the 1850s, when Benedictine monks arrived in the city to find a working-class Catholic community in need of a dedicated school. In response, the monks established St. Benedict’s College, which began welcoming students in 1868.

St. Benedict’s offered both college and college-preparatory courses for the better part of its first five decades. However, upon recognizing a greater demand for the college prep classes, the school eliminated its college-level courses in 1917, and assumed its current name.

Since then, St. Benedict’s has expanded its focus. Along with continuing to educate male students in its preparatory division, it now maintains elementary and middle divisions for both girls and boys. The success of the school, which is operated by the same abbey of monks that founded it in 1868, is seen in its graduates, 98 percent of whom go on to attend college. This is an especially impressive rate in a city where only 12 percent of adults possess a college degree.

Innovative Product Extends the Shelf Life of Flowers

Inventor and businessman Robert Hamley founded Forever Flowers to market his patented innovation–a floral preservative kit that extends the shelf life of flowers and preserves their color and scent. Robert Hamley’s invention is sold globally through the Home Shopping Network and QVC.

Flowers can be meaningful gifts for various occasions. However, cut flowers have short lifespans and typically die after several days. Over the years, efforts have been made to develop solutions to this problem: Various approaches to flower preservation–such as hand drying, freeze-drying, the use of silica gel, and spraying of preservative mixtures–have been attempted. However, none of these methods have succeeded in extending the shelf life of flowers.

Mr. Hamley’s product succeeds where others have failed, by using low-temperature paraffin and saccharides as floral nutrients and preservatives. The low-temperature paraffin is heated to 130 degrees Fahrenheit until it is liquefied. Then, the saccharide is added–and in some cases, colored dyes and scents are added as well.

The head of the flower is then dipped into this mixture for three seconds, after which the flower is allowed to dry. The dried flower can be used immediately, or can be left to hang upside down for up to three weeks to further prolong its shelf life. Floral paint may also be sprayed on the flower to add shine, and to ensure that the color of the flower remains realistic.

Mr. Hamley’s invention was granted a patent on November 22, 2005, and has been sold on television for seven years.